


The Cabin

by Miss_Murdered



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-03-30 04:37:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13942749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Murdered/pseuds/Miss_Murdered
Summary: Trowa’s debut novel became a best-seller and now he is failing at writing a follow up. In order to find peace and quiet to write, he rents a secluded cabin near a small town to find inspiration. Yet writing becomes hard when he keeps hearing howls from the woods in the middle of the night and even harder when he meets a charming diner owner named Duo…





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Heavily inspired by the song A Tale of Outer Suburbia by Hands Like Houses. Spot the old fic reference to any of my long-time readers...!  
> Hoping to post once a week.

Trowa hummed along to the song on the radio, his fingers occasionally drumming on the steering wheel, his mood rapidly improving as it was clear he was near the end of his journey. It had been a long drive and a red eye flight. His mood had not been the greatest as Trowa had stupidly decided to try and complete his journey in one day, determined to just get to the cabin as soon as he could and start the much needed task of relaxation. Now he could see the final part of his journey and a small smile crossed his face.

The road towards the cabin was overgrown and there was dense woodland at either side so Trowa drove cautiously so as not to cause damage to his rental car and be forced to make a payment towards it. It had been a dumb as fuck thing to do - to try and travel this distance in one day without a break but now his decision had been proven right. There even still some light when he arrived – a silvery winter sun - and Trowa took that as a good omen for his little vacation.

As he approached, Trowa could see the roof of the cabin and it was just as Heero said. It did not look much from the outside. In fact, it looked very much like your average wooden construction but Trowa knew otherwise. He hadn’t come to the cabin to “rough it” or be “one with nature”. Really, he was coming to cabin to escape. But he wanted to escape in comfort. And it would be _very_ comfortable.

It wasn’t Heero’s cabin. Heero just “consulted” with a very a rich and very reclusive billionaire who went by the name of Quatre Raberba Winner. This Winner guy was a well-known tech entrepreneur and inventor who happened to own random properties dotted across the globe. When Trowa had complained about how he needed an escape to Heero over a craft beer, Heero had said he might know someone who could help. A few emails later, and some more crafts beers, Trowa was paying a meagre deposit to stay at a cabin in the heart of a forest. It was an unexpected outcome but one that Trowa was pleased with – this Winner guy didn’t care about being paid the full rental value of his property as he was not using it for the month and Trowa was going to stay somewhere out of the way but fitted with all the modern conveniences. It was perfect.

And as he parked outside and saw the lake it was situated next to, Trowa was pretty sure it was as near as perfect as he could get. He got out of the car and stretched, his body feeling cramped from the confines of the rental car. It was cold and Trowa was ill-prepared for that in his grey v-neck t-shirt but instead of getting more layers, he only grabbed for his belongings in the back seat and walked towards his home for the next month.

He fumbled for his phone in the back pocket of his worn jeans, his fingers already cold and useless and he pulled up the screenshot of the information of how to get in as he stood on the porch. There was a keypad and a number combination and Trowa input the numbers quickly before he froze his balls off. With the combination put in correctly, the door made a small noise and he pushed it open to feel that the cabin was no warmer than outside.

Closing the door behind him and dropping his bag of belongings onto the shining wood, he went in search of his next instruction. To put on the power and heat. The cabin was made up of an open plan dining, kitchen and living area with a bedroom with only a partition wall and no door. The only room that was clearly separate was the bathroom, located off the bedroom, but Trowa didn’t care for the full tour. The cabin was cold, dark and musty smelling despite its modern and sleek appearance. It had not been used in some time and Trowa shivered as he followed the instructions on his phone and found the cupboard he needed so that he could power and warm the cabin.

There was a screen and a keypad in the cupboard and Trowa input the relevant code which brought to life the touch screen inside. With that activated, Trowa quickly turned on the lights and the underfloor heating, the hot water tank and the power supply to all the kitchen appliances. For a second, he put his hands on his hips and surveyed the cabin, enjoying his small victory. Yet he knew it was a ridiculous thing to be proud of. After all, he had only input a few codes and flicked a few switches.

Now that the cabin was habitable, Trowa checked out the bedroom area with the large king bed, a red and white Nordic style throw over it and cushions scattered on it. A large window showed the forest around the cabin and Trowa imagined he would be woken by natural sunlight rather than his sister, Cathy’s clattering around or the sound of traffic.

The bathroom was en-suite and Trowa was impressed as he stepped into it. It felt like another world, the shower making up most of the space and the walls were sleek grey slate but what made it so otherworldly was the fact there was no ceiling. There was only window that looked up to the world, the canopy of trees and the sky peeking through. It would be like showering outside and Trowa liked the idea.

After his brief exploration, Trowa returned to the main room of the cabin, the heat beginning to radiate around him. Realising he had been most rude, he returned to the door and removed his work boots and then he felt the warmth from the underfloor heating underneath his socked feet. Yes, he liked this, he thought. He would have to talk to Heero when he got home and get more information about this Quatre. Maybe he should spend some of his own money and create his own perfect hideaway. And if he did, it would definitely need underfloor heating, he decided.

He grabbed his bag and got out his laptop and the notebooks, leaving them on the table near the fireplace and then he deposited his clothes on the floor in the bedroom in an unceremonious pile so that he could find a warm sweater. He didn’t need to be tidy, it was just him so he decided not to care. Instead, he would live like as much of a slob as he could. Warmer, Trowa went to the kitchen and figured out where the glasses were, pouring some ice cold water from the fancy hot/cold tap and then settled himself down at the table.

Tomorrow he would go find the local market and buy some food but for tonight, he would live off the junk he had eaten on the journey and the chips and candy bars that he’d left in the damn car. He remembered that as he turned on the laptop and then that distraction left him looking at the fireplace. It didn’t matter if he started writing _right away¸_ he could set a fire and procure the food from the car first.

The firewood was already there, set in a smart pile beside the fire so Trowa quickly achieved that task. Once done, Trowa looked at the flames before he went back to his rental car, reluctant to shove his warm feet back into his boots. He did though, despite his reluctance and went back into the cold.

It was now dark and Trowa hadn’t realised quite how dark it would be. Surrounded by trees and away from the glaring lights of the city, the only sources of the light were from the cabin itself and the starlight above. He stopped as he got to the car and looked up, his breath spilling from his lips in soft trails of white as he saw constellations he remembered seeing once, as a kid, in some memory that was almost a dream. It was beautiful and despite the shiver, he wanted to stay outside. Maybe he should’ve brought a telescope or something so he could scan the night sky unimpeded but then he hadn’t really thought about things like that. He had only thought about what he needed to do at the cabin. Which was goddamn write.

His wistful staring at the sky was cut short when he heard a snapping of twig, a rustle of movement and low growl like noise that did not sound exactly friendly. He was a city boy and a bit naïve to what could be hiding in the forest surrounding him but he wasn’t stupid enough to stick around outside for anything to _find_ him. Quickly, he got the bag of junk food from the car and hurried back into the cabin slamming the door behind him. He swore he heard a howl as he closed the door but then figured it was his imagination. As it all probably was.

Food and fire sorted and convincing himself that the outdoor noises were just that – noises – Trowa sat to his laptop and opened the blank Word Document as he always seemed to do. He watched the little cursor blink, flashing at him, winking in a mocking fashion that Trowa had become used to it.  It was mocking him as he was sucking at writing the much needed follow up novel.

Trowa didn’t really intend to become a best-selling novelist. Not really. And as he grabbed for his notebook, he thought of how easy it had been to write _Flicker Fade_ and how not one single word had really felt like a chore. Not like the second novel. Not like what he was trying to write _now._

When the idea for _Flicker Fade_ came, Trowa had been possessed. He had needed to write the damn well thing as he hadn’t been able to sleep, to rest or think about anything else until it was all on the page. He wrote on his old wonky laptop, slow at loading but kept on standby all the time so that he could type in the brief moments between his two jobs and any social occasion that was unavoidable.

It had been a summer where all his focus had been on getting the thing finished – he had needed to tell the story of his ex-lovers meeting at a mutual friend’s funeral. He had needed to spew out the angst, the desire and the happy resolution after it all. And Trowa had despite the many distractions.

Despite the exhaustion, despite the two jobs and despite the other responsibilities, Trowa had managed to write _Flicker Fade_. Yet now he couldn’t write a damn thing.

He hadn’t expected _Flicker Fade_ to sell. To be successful. To have potential movie rights bought. It was all very exciting and Trowa had been wrapped up in, marvelling at his own cleverness and the genius of his turn of phrase. He was a quiet guy, always observing and in that success, he was able to show there was more to him than being the quiet guy.

It was all because Cathy told him to try and publish it that he had. That she had seen his light on at all hours of the night and seen the way he had written parts of it on napkins when he had just _needed_ to write it.  And now when he had the time to write, the luxury of not having to damn well work and find those scant few hours where he could type, he was unable to do it.

He was fucked. He didn’t dare tell his agent. Chang Wufei was a shrewd man who emailed him bi-weekly to ensure that Trowa was making progress on his follow up novel. Trowa calmly managed to bat those emails back claiming he was researching or that all his work was in notebooks at the moment and he would be collating soon for a first draft. The bullshit was working so far but Trowa knew it would not work for long. As he had a deadline. March. So here he was in January with nothing and that was why he was taking drastic measures.

Trowa opened his snacks, salty pretzels and stared at the blinking cursor, his mind blank. He knew what he had wanted to write but that clearly wasn’t working. Maybe he needed to change his idea entirely… maybe…

Or maybe he just needed some goddamn sleep and to think about it in the morning. With a grunt, he closed the laptop without a little more force than necessary and plonked his weary body on bed, his eyes glancing out of the window towards the darkened forest. Tomorrow he would find inspiration, he decided, as he shimmied out of his jeans to sleep in boxers and his sweater underneath the thick blankets. Tomorrow he would write his novel.

And with tomorrow agreed as the beginning of finishing the fucking thing with his own brain, Trowa closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. Yet as he fell asleep, he wondered if he heard scratches against the walls or a howl in the wind but decided it was just his tired brain. It was nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

The morning came and Trowa had seemingly slept through most it. Groggily, he managed to extricate himself from the excessive amount of blankets and sit up, his hair in his eyes and his mouth dry. The sun was out and Trowa squinted as he adjusted to the light yet didn’t move. He didn’t have to. There was no work. No Cathy demanding a ride somewhere or wanting to check he was still alive.

He did love his sister. After all, it had been just them for as long as Trowa could remember. He didn’t remember his parents. Cathy did. It was probably harder for her. When their parents died, Cathy and Trowa had lived with their grandma yet that did not mean they were looked after. She had been too old at that point and it had been Cathy who cooked, cleaned, who cared for both the old and young in the house. When their grandma had died, Cathy had been old enough that she could claim parental responsibility for Trowa and not have the world of foster carers and social services. It had been a blessing yet meant their relationship was perhaps a little too close or at least a little bit different than a usual sibling one. Cathy had been like a mother to Trowa as well as a sister and that sometimes made it difficult for him to find space away from her.

Right now he needed space. He needed to his brain to work and for him to remember how he wrote _Flicker Fade_ and why he had been so consumed to tell the tale. And why he didn’t feel like that now.

He couldn’t live off one novel forever. It had made a decent enough amount of money and the movie rights had been bought but that did not mean a successful movie was going to be made of it. Or made at all. Trowa was made aware his one bit of success would not last long and the money would run out eventually. So he had to do. Somehow.

With a big stretch, Trowa padded out of the bedroom and remembered that he had nothing to eat beyond pretzels and candy.

“Gotta go find the store,” he muttered to himself.

Dressed, showered and clean shaven, Trowa left the cabin around noon, his stomach growling. He needed to find a diner as well. Cooking himself was not at option when he felt _this_ hungry.

Trowa guessed he could walk to the town as he had seen it was only a few miles away according to the app on his phone but due to his need to eat _now,_ he hopped into the rental car and drove down the overgrown road. It did not take long to reach the highway and from there it was not long to the little town that sat down the hill from the forest and the cabin.

He spotted the market and due to the size of the town it did not take long to see the diner as well. There seemed very few businesses in the central area of the town and Trowa parked up on the street, walking back towards the diner and feeling very suddenly like an outsider. This sense of being an outsider only increased when he stepped into Gee’s Diner and Trowa could feel every set of eyes on him as he strode in and took a seat at one of the well-worn booths by the window. He tried not to feel self-conscious as he felt everyone’s eyes on him and he sat with a confidence he didn’t really feel. He was glad he had his phone and his notebook with him as at least he could pretend to write while he waited for food. It would provide some distraction from the very intense feeling of being watched.

It only took a moment from Trowa sitting down for a waitress to approach wearing a striped uniform and a curious expression. She smiled broadly.

“What can I get’cha?” she said.

Trowa had barely had chance to see the menu selection but right now he didn’t care about what he ate. He just wanted to eat and get out of the diner.

“What’s good?” he asked with a smile, trying to be smooth and cool. The image of Cathy laughing popped into his head as he was sure his attempt at being cool was worthy of being mocked.

“The fried chicken and waffles is Duo’s speciality,” she said with a quirk of her head in the direction of the open window that showed the kitchen area, “and our pies and legendary.”

The pies did look quite impressive, perched in the display case and ready for cutting, some already having slices taken out but fried chicken sounded like a good option. It wasn’t exactly the healthiest option but Trowa had not eaten anything but candy, pretzels and plane food for the last 24 hours, anything had more nutrition than those.

“Fried chicken would be great. And a black coffee.”

“Sure thing, stranger.”

Her parting shot was accompanied by a wink and Trowa soon realised that the entire process of him ordering had been scrutinised by the rest of the people at the diner. He tried not to let his annoyance or embarrassment show on his face and he reached for his back pocket to bring out the folded thin notebook so he could at least do something to ease his self-consciousness.

He supposed it made sense. This was a small town and a new person was a rare and exciting occurrence. He wondered how they felt about Winner locally, if he visited the market for his groceries but then he remembered what Heero had said about the guy. He was a bit of a germ-phobe and did not like interacting with people. Trowa guessed his food would be delivered, sealed in plastic packaging and free of any human interaction apart from taking the box off the delivery guy.

The waitress returned with a cup of coffee and Trowa thanked her, returning his gaze to his scattered pages of notes and thumbing through the pages until he got to a blank page. He paused then, getting out his phone to check his messages, avoiding writing even when he was trying to find a distraction. He really wasn’t going to get this novel done.

He was responding to Cathy to reassure her that he was going to buy food and eat at reasonable hours, when his food was slid in front of him. Expecting the waitress, he barely glanced up to smile in thanks until he realised it wasn’t the waitress. It was a guy. A guy wearing an apron over a checked shirt with rolled up sleeves and a grin, a guy with braided hair tucked into the back of his shirt and his hands on his hips.

“I’m sorry, man, small town and all. Everyone’s talking so I had to come and see who the newbie was. You sticking around or driving through?”

Trowa’s mouth gaped slightly at the frankness of the guy. It wasn’t like he was rude, per se, just very forward and no nonsense. Trowa actually preferred it to the stares and gossiping. Yet this conversation was now the entire focus of the diner. The background noise of the local radio station even seemed fainter as though someone had turned it down to hear whatever Trowa said.

“I’m staying at the Winner cabin for a month,” he said.

“Woah… you know that rich kook?”

“A friend does. I’m only renting.”

The guy nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer. He offered his hand, a hand that Trowa could see knife cuts and burns prominently over the skins surface. “I’m Duo. Own this place… I’m always around if you want to discover the secrets of this here little town.”

Trowa took the hand, shaking firmly and meeting Duo’s _very_ blue eyes. “Trowa. And thanks…”

With a nod, Duo rubbed his hands on his apron. “Gotta go back, no rest for the wicked, huh?” he said backing away with a chuckle. “Enjoy your meal.”

Unable to think of anything else to say, Trowa nodded and looked at his plate of food. He could feel the diners gaze upon him but ignored it and instead started to eat, wolfing down his food without looking up again. Maybe that was it – maybe now the news of the stranger staying at the Winner cabin would spread and then everyone would know who he was and he wouldn’t have to have the discussion again. Trowa sincerely hoped so. He didn’t want to say anything else. He certainly didn’t want to say he was an author – especially not an author of a bestselling gay love story.

His food finished, Trowa downed the final drags of his coffee and a bill was placed beside him within seconds of his final bite. He appreciated the speed, getting out his wallet and grabbing his phone so that he could make his hasty exit. He tipped handsomely and thanked the waitress as she took the cash, responding with an awkward smile when she said “see you again.”

Trowa would return for the food, it had been delicious despite the speed he had needed to eat, yet he didn’t really want to be the centre of attention once again. Out into the open air, Trowa took a deep breath and started his slow stroll towards the market to pick up his groceries. He was feeling free from awkward conversation and was thinking surely the weird diner experience was good fodder for a story when he heard his name shouted. Twice.

He turned to see Duo chasing him, running down the street, his braided hair longer than Trowa expected as it had escaped the confines of his shirt. “You left this.”

Trowa realised what Duo was holding in his head. His old battered thin notebook. He had been too quick to leave that he had left it hidden under his abandoned plate.

“Thanks,” he said, expecting for Duo to head back to his diner. Yet Duo didn’t. Instead he stood in front of Trowa scratching at the back of his neck and looking anywhere but directly at Trowa.

“Look, I’m sorry… I thought it would be best just to ask. I know this place is full of rumours and a newbie is a big deal but I know I embarrassed you. I’m sorry, man.”

“It’s fine,” Trowa responded, taken aback by the apology, “I’m just… I’m a writer. I’m quiet.”

Duo smiled then, a look of relief flooding over his face. “I figured with the notebook and all…”

Struggling for anything else to say, Trowa nodded and wondered if he could just make his exit to the market without being too rude. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Trowa gestured in the direction he had been heading. “I need to get some groceries.”

“Yeah and I need to get back to work…” Duo said with a shrug. “But I mean what I say, you know. If you want some history of the town and stuff I’m your guy… I might even help with some inspiration.”

Duo winked and Trowa blinked. For a second Trowa wondered if Duo was flirting with him yet he damped down that thought as quickly as it surfaced.

“I will, thanks.”

“Here,” Duo said, grabbing the notebook back. He quickly flicked through the book, finding a blank page and he wrote his number down with a pen he kept attached to his apron. “Call me or whatever.”

Trowa took it back, his finger rubbing lightly over the fresh ink, blurring it ever so slightly. “Sure.”

And with that impressively eloquent response, they went their separate ways, Duo running back to the diner and Trowa slowly meandering his way to the market as he stuffed the notebook back into his pocket. He wasn’t what to think about Duo or their encounter but he found it oddly reassuring to have a number of somebody in the town. Maybe one day he could ask about what lived in the forest.


	3. Chapter 3

By the time Trowa returned to the cabin, the day light was already beginning to fade and most of the day had gone. He paused when he got out of the car, listening to the forest around him and shaking his head at the average and normal animal noises he heard. It had been first night nerves, he reasoned with himself, and he imagined those noises as some form of sadistic entertainment for himself. He was a writer, after all, his own imagination was his own worst enemy. It really was not helping him in slightest at the moment.

He carried the groceries in and turned on all the lights, lit the fire and made the cabin as bright and comfortable as he could. He changed into some comfortable sweatpants and removed his socks, his feet curling into the floorboards underneath with every step as though to absorb the warmth from the underfloor heating. He intended to relax and write. His good intentions soon faded.

After cooking a small but satisfying meal, he turned on his laptop with the intent to write. And, of course, as soon Trowa was filled with the intent to write was the moment he heard the loud howl from outside. It sounded _close_ and Trowa sat up straight and listened, straining to hear something. Yet there were no noises from outside for five minutes and Trowa relaxed back into the chair and started to type, ignoring what could be a one off occurrence.

But as he began to type, he heard the scratching as though _something_ was trying to get in the cabin. It wasn’t at the door, it was from the walls and Trowa got up, and put his boots on to try and see what was going on. He wasn’t sure if it was a good idea or not or what he was going to do if he was confronted by a large animal but that didn’t stop him from stepping out and lighting around him with his phone torch.

 It felt cold, colder than it had earlier and Trowa walked around the cabin shining the torch against the walls and towards the forest. Now he was outside he could hear the rustle of leaves, the wind whistling and the occasional hoots from owls yet he didn’t heard that howl again or that scratching. There was no real evidence of it happening either as Trowa looked and soon he had done a perimeter sweep and was stood by the car, staring at the lake as though it could provide an answer.

Maybe it was a cliché tale. He, the writer, was going mad from his lack of inspiration and in his isolation he was going to start to imagine that there were monsters in the forest. Maybe he was finding his inspiration. Or he was going crazy. Neither were good.

Returning inside, Trowa sat back down at the laptop, the screen now blank from no longer being used. He stared at it and then drummed his fingers on the wooden table. He needed to find out if there was _something_ about the forest around him and the cabin. Trowa thought that might help him rest. So he did the only thing he could.

Google.

He’d researched the town prior to his arrival and had seen nothing remarkable. And neither had he seen anything remarkable about the building of the cabin. All in all, it yielded nothing and had been a waste of his time. He reached for his phone and typed in the number from his crumpled notebook, his fingers doing so slowly as though stalling the inevitable. Why was he already messaging the local guy? Was he really _that_ pathetic? Logic told him it was curiosity and the guy had been handsome. He ignored the other part that feared there was something man-eating in the woods.

_Think you have time to tell me about the town tonight?_

Trowa sent the message and then realised he was a dumb idiot. As he hadn’t told Duo who it was and he was being too damn forward. Relationships were not Trowa’s forte, he was a fuck and run kind of guy and those encounters were aided by the use of an app. He never really had to message from out of the blue some random guy who had given him his number. It felt like an gesture from a generation ago. He slammed his fist on the table, rattling his laptop and dislodging his notebook to the floor cursing himself as “fucking idiot” underneath his breath. Should he message again? Clarify who it was and let Duo knew he wasn’t a complete douche? Yet he didn’t need to as there was a reply on his screen.

For a second Trowa didn’t want to look. As surely Duo thought he was an idiot.

_Guessing this is Trowa?_

Trowa sighed, relief flooding his system and some of his annoyance at himself dissipating. If only a little bit.

_Yeah. Sorry._

He imagined then Duo laughing, that soft chuckle he had already heard and Trowa felt something flicker in his stomach.

_Come down to Howard’s. The only bar in town. You’ll find it ;-P_

Trowa frowned as his phone and then looked down at his comfortable outfit. He had not planned on leaving the cabin. He had still not even written any coherent on his laptop. Yet he was walking towards the bedroom, removing his sweatpants and swapping them for a pair of straight cut jeans, his grey sweatshirt for a button down shirt. After checking he looked presentable, Trowa left the cabin, leaving the heat and light on for some reason he couldn’t quite explain. Maybe he hoped the sign of human activity would be off-putting to whatever _they_ were. If _they_ even existed. He shook his head as he got in the rental car, increasingly annoyed by his imagination when it was only making him paranoid and not getting his novel written.

He drove into the town once again and Duo was right, it was not hard to find the only bar in town. Howard’s was separate from the strip of shops with its own small parking lot and Trowa parked, hesitating before he exited the security of his rental car. He guessed that Howard’s would be exactly the same as the diner, that everyone would stare and gossip and he needed a moment to prepare himself for that.

The anxiety of being the centre of attention actually eased any nervousness regarding meeting Duo so after steeling himself, Trowa stepped out of the car and walked in with bravado he didn’t feel. Trowa had worked in bars for half of his life, he seemed, but they had always been the sort of bars with elaborate cocktail menus and where a uniform was required. This was not like those places. It was dark with wood rather than light with chrome and glittery floors. And the floor was definitely not shiny or filled with lights, it was sticky as Trowa walked like the old music venues that had all disappeared in recent years.

As Trowa stepped in, he saw an old-fashioned jukebox, a pool table, and old posters of local tourist attractions. It was all lived in and Trowa liked it more than those places that had followed the trend so much that they all seemed the same. There was a familiarity to Howard’s yet a certain uniqueness and Trowa scanned the room to find Duo.

People stared in Trowa’s direction as he stood in the doorway. He expected it and yet it wasn’t quite as intense as it had been in the diner. People looked up from their beers and then back to whatever conversation they were having in one swift gesture rather than lingering. Maybe he was already old news in town.

He spotted Duo, he was sat at the bar, his braid now trailing down his back rather than hiding down the back of his shirt. He was talking to the old guy behind the bar who was wearing the brightest and more obnoxious Hawaiian shirt that Trowa had ever seen along with sunglasses in the darkened room. He seemed bizarre yet Trowa didn’t get chance to think any more about his ridiculousness as Duo turned then, a big smile on his face and holding a bottle of beer in his hand.

“Trowa! Wondered if you’d make it,” he said with a wink, “shall we grab a booth and some beers?”

Trowa didn’t get time to respond as Duo then had already got beers in front of him as though the old dude behind the bar was some kind of psychic and was walking towards the indicated booth, holding them in his hand. Trowa followed, sliding in at the opposite side and accepting the beer readily. He felt like he needed.

“So finding it lonely at the Winner cabin, huh?”

Blinking at the bluntness of the question, Trowa felt his mouth open and no words come from it. He wasn’t lonely at the Winner cabin, he was just unable to concentrate and that was something completely different…

“I’m kidding, don’t worry…ask me what you want to know about the town, I’ll see if I know anything.”

Trowa took a sip of his beer and tried to compose his questions. He watched Duo’s relaxed pose, the way he seemed to sink into the old leather and he wished he felt as at ease. His fingers were already beginning to pick at the label on the bottle.

“Are there are stories about the town? Anything strange?”

Duo “hmmed” and his eyes drifted to the ceiling, his gaze purposefully avoiding Trowa’s for a few seconds. Then he shrugged. “It’s a small place. Anything strange would be big news, you know? I’ve lived here most of my life and I don’t remember anything you know… weird. The most exciting thing that happened here was your friend Winner pitching up and building that fancy-ass cabin. That caused enough gossip for a goddamn year.”

“Did people not want him to build it?”

“No, I mean… yeah, there were some people who _didn’t_ want some rich dude cutting down trees and shit. But then he wasn’t actually gonna do a lot of that and the project was all sustainable and he used local guys to build it and source from. Like at first, no one wanted it but then like by giving people some jobs it was different, you know? I mean, no one ever met the guy but he was pretty decent by all accounts.”

Trowa nodded and took a long swig of his beer as Duo did the same. Just as Google said, the place was unremarkable. That was probably why Winner had chosen the place for his cabin. Away from reality, from cities and in a town where literally nothing had happened in. It seemed all too perfect. There had to be something interesting about the place. Then he remembered the noises from the wood…

“What lives in the woods?”

Duo raised one eyebrow and took a sip of beer. “Nothing much. Maybe some bears. Deer, I guess. Some people hunt but not many. There’s no real mystery or anything.”

“I heard… howling. Like wolves. Then some scratching at the cabins walls.”

“Huh,” Duo sighed, “maybe there are. I don’t really get time for a hike so I dunno. Maybe I should go on one with you. See if there’s anything hiding. I mean… it’d have to be Sunday as that’s the only day I close the diner but I guess it can wait until then, right?”

Trowa nodded, dumbfounded a little at how quickly Duo’s mind worked and how an idea he had mooted had suddenly become a solid plan in the space of a few seconds.

“Cool,” Duo said, raising his bottle, “let’s toast to Sunday’s hike.”

“To the hike,” Trowa mumbled, clinking their bottles together.

“So… can I ask what you’re writing?”

Trowa laughed softly. “Trying to. My first novel was published last year and I’m trying to write my follow up. And failing.”

“What was your first novel? Anything I’d have heard of?”

Shifting awkwardly, Trowa looked around the bar. He worried about mentioning the fact he had wrote a gay novel yet there was no one close enough to hear except Duo.

“It was called _Flicker Fade_. It was about two guys who’d broken up reuniting at a friend’s funeral.”

“Sounds interesting,” Duo said with a smile, “can I get a signed copy, Mr Writer?”

“I can get my agent to send you one and I’ll sign it. I’m not in the habit of carrying around copies.”

“Thanks, man. And your second novel is about…?”

Trowa shrugged. “I don’t know. I wrote _Flicker Fade_ as I had to… it just needed to be written. I was working two jobs and still found time to write it. Yet now…”

“Too much time and no inspiration?” Duo asked, a gentle tease in his tone.

“Exactly.”

“So you came here for inspiration?”

“I guess.”

“Maybe we’ll find some on Sunday, huh?” Duo raised his bottle to his lips, downing the rest of the drink. “I gotta bounce. I have to be up at an hour that is far too early in the morning so I need some sleep but I’ll see you Sunday, okay?”

“Okay,” Trowa replied.

“Cool, see you Sunday,” he said and then he proceeded to the bar to pay the tab, leaving with a wave to a few of the regulars.

Trowa finished his own beer and looked to see that in the process of their conversation he had removed most of the label, the remnants of the paper embedded underneath his fingers. He followed Duo’s lead, leaving and waving in the direction of the old dude behind the bar, and got back into his rental car to drive back to the cabin. The one beer was hardly impairing him but he drove back slowly, aware that he shouldn’t really be driving on unfamiliar roads but not wanting to walk back in the dark.

Duo’s words had reassured him. Made Trowa feel that it was purely his imagination and after Sunday, he would be sure there was nothing visiting him at the cabin and trying to get it.

Yet as he drove along the long path to the cabin ever so slowly, Trowa thought he almost saw something in his headlights, brief as it was. He was glad of the one beer as he blamed it on the alcohol and not anything more mysterious.


	4. Chapter 4

Sunday. It had never taken so long for it to be Sunday for Trowa in his life. Yet it got there eventually despite Trowa’s anxiety, his inability to write and his isolation. He had managed to write _something_ since his meeting with Duo. It was vague, small vignettes and nothing that was ordered or that resembled plot yet Trowa was glad that he had least written _something_ in his notebooks and on the document labelled “Manuscript Two”.

He still kept hearing the howls. It was always late in the night and it always seemed like he had half heard it. It was when Trowa was writing or when he was cooking or when he was asleep and he would hear the howl and occasionally hear the sound of claws against wood and he would wonder if it was real or his imagination. He was never quite sure.

Yet today he might get some answers.

After the beer, Trowa had come back to the cabin and thought about Duo and what he said. Then he thought about his body language. There had been something in his body language and Trowa hadn’t really noticed it at the time but the more and more he thought the more he thought there was something else to Duo’s answers… Something that he intended to discover.

It was eleven in the morning and Trowa was sat at the table, his laptop open as a pretence and his notebook in front of him. He wasn’t thinking, instead he was just staring into space, and he nibbled at the end of his pen.

Duo had texted the previous night that he wouldn’t be there until after lunch. It was his one day off and it seemed that he wanted to rest at least a little. Trowa didn’t blame him for that. In his old life he had always had one day off, a glorious Monday, and in his exhaustion from the jobs and the weight of writing his novel, he had often found himself sleeping most of the day away. He supposed Duo felt the same about his precious day off – that it was the one day to catch up on sleep and be selfish. Trowa didn’t want to impose on that.

As he sat, Trowa’s mind did wander to his actual novel and small vignettes he was writing. He scowled at the notes he had made, the arrows covering the note page to try and create connections that would somehow create plot, and he saw one phrase in his scrawls that he had underlined.

“Wolf-like”.

He frowned as Trowa wasn’t the sort of guy who liked supernatural literature or horror or _anything_ like that. Cathy had liked scary movies, watching them and screeching and hiding behind pillows, but Trowa hadn’t. As for books, Trowa may’ve picked up a Stephen King once or twice but certainly wouldn’t have gone out of his way to read them.  And _Flicker Fade_ had not been remotely supernatural. It had been a real story about love and grief and loss and how fucked up relationships were.

Yet in his notes and the small vignettes he had already written were moments of chasing, of being chased, and the taste of blood and the feel of harsh cold on naked skin. It was so… not the sort of thing he wrote. It felt clichéd… yet somehow, visceral. Trowa didn’t know what to think about it. Thankfully, he did not have to wait long to consider the stream of consciousness that was coming from his troubled brain as there was a loud knock on the door and Trowa started, the noise making his already shot nerves jolt.

After his initial surprise, Trowa managed to get up and walk to the door, only showing a small amount of shock at the guest on the other side of the door.  Duo was grinning, holding bags from his diner, the logo emblazed on it and wearing ripped jeans and a thick checked jacket.

“I was up earlier so thought I’d bring dinner before our adventures in the woods.”

Trowa could smell something delicious and thoroughly  unhealthy, his stomach growling and making him very aware of his poor eating habits and his lack of regular routine since he had arrived at the cabin. “Come in,” Trowa offered, waving his hand towards the interior of the cabin and stepping aside so that Duo could come in.

Duo whistled as he entered and divested himself of his boots prior to walking further in, his cue taken from Trowa’s own that stood next to the door.

“This is fancy,” Duo said as he took off his coat, hanging it beside Trowa’s.

As Trowa closed the door, he glanced where Duo’s items had joined his own and it seemed like they had always been there. That they had always belonged alongside Trowa’s. The feeling was odd, unreal and Trowa had to shake it.

“I’ll just clear the table so we can eat,” Trowa said, walking towards where his laptop and notebooks were scattered. He didn’t really want Duo to see his poor attempts at writing his novels sequel, so he scooped it all up and dumped it onto one of the chairs. It wasn’t exactly hidden but Duo seemed to understand that Trowa didn’t want to share and made no comment,

Instead Duo was busy getting the food and cans of soda out of the bags - Styrofoam clamshells of fries and chicken, of bacon and tater tots, and a pair of juicy looking burgers. It was far too much for the two of them to eat but Trowa was more than happy to attempt to.

He grabbed plates from the kitchen and saw Duo looking a little sheepish now that all the containers were open. “I think I brought too much.”

“It looks great,” Trowa said as he took a seat, Duo following suit.

They did not eat all of the food – yet they did make a good dent and all of it was as greasy and delicious as Trowa had anticipated. They talked as they ate, or at least, Duo did most of the talking. Trowa asked about the diner and Duo was more than happy to explain how he had come to own the place.

“I guess I inherited it,” he said with a shrug and a mouth full of burger and fries, “my last foster carer owned it and when he died… discovered the place was mine in his will. Was kinda a huge surprise and I figured the old coot was playing some kinda trick on me but hey… guess it worked out in the end. I work for myself and I’m like… a _part_ of this town, you know. I belong. I never really belonged anywhere before.”

Trowa watched Duo closely as he spoke, nodding and “hmm” softly at the appropriate points in the story. And as he watched, Trowa saw how expressive Duo’s face was, how big his eyes seemed and how they showed hints of melancholy as he explained his past.

“I lost my parents. I don’t remember them. My sister raised me,” Trowa explained, his voice monotone as he spoke. He very rarely told his story and the words felt odd on his tongue.

His agent, Wufei, had found out that he was an orphan once the book was going to be published and suggested that they used Trowa’s story as a way of marketing the book. A tale of a heart breaking childhood overcome. But Trowa angrily said his childhood was not part of the marketing plan. And it hadn’t been heart breaking  as he had had Cathy. He’d always had his sister. And she had ensured he had never wanted for love or affection.

Duo held up his can of soda. “Here’s to two sad orphans, huh?”

Trowa blinked, unsure for a second, then reached for his soda, clinking his can with Duo’s. “Cheers.”

The conversation stilled for a few minutes until Duo finally proclaimed himself full and Trowa reached for the napkins too, throwing in the proverbial towel.

“We can always reheat after our woodland adventure,” Duo said, waggling his eyebrows as he started to pack away the remaining food back into Styrofoam and put it into the fridge for later.

It already seemed like Duo belonged in the Winner cabin. As Trowa watched, Duo seemed natural, at ease as he walked around and Trowa couldn’t help but admire the way he moved, the way he appeared so relaxed. They had barely known each other a few days yet Duo already acted as though they had known each other since kids. Trowa never told anyone about his parents. And yet he had said to this guy. Shaking his head, Trowa dismissed the thoughts as he took the plates to the kitchen sink, dumping them in to wash later.

He was clearly just thinking with his dick, Trowa reasoned. Duo was attractive and charming and funny and easy to talk to. He was seeing things that weren’t there. Just like he was hearing the howls and the scratches outside the cabin. His imagination was becoming his own worst enemy. If only it let him write his novel…

“Ready to go?” Duo asked.

“Yeah,” Trowa replied after a few seconds of awkward silence. It must’ve been obvious that he’d drifted off. He needed to stop doing that. “Let’s go.”

With that, boots and jackets were put on and bags packed with essentials. With a node and a grin from Duo, they left the warmth of the cabin and they stepped out into the brisk winter air. Trowa locked up behind them and turned then to see Duo with his arms outstretched and his eyes closed, taking in deep breaths. Not sure what to make of it, Trowa stared for a second until Duo opened his eyes and then winked.

“Trying to commune with nature. I ain’t really getting anything.”

Trowa smiled and shook his head. “Let’s go that way.”

“Whatever you say, boss. It’s your mystery hike.”

They walked away from the lake and Trowa didn’t tell Duo why as they began their journey. He didn’t want to explain about the howling and how it _seemed_ like it came from this direction. They didn’t talk much as they walked, concentrating on the terrain underneath their feet. It was muddy and difficult to navigate, no real paths through the densely packed trees. It soon became apparent to Trowa as they walked that there was no way he was going to discover much evidence of any animals in the woods as he did not know what type of animal he was looking for. He assumed the howling meant wolves but then he wasn’t really sure what traces wolves would leave behind. This whole idea had been stupid but he did not want to admit that to Duo just yet.

 As though noting Trowa’s mood or lack of enthusiasm, he felt Duo’s hand on his arm stopping him. They stopped and Trowa opened his mouth to speak but Duo shook his head. Right then, Trowa glanced around and listened. He listened. He didn’t hear howling. Yet he heard the sound of the wind whistling through branches, the birdsong, his own breathing and his own heart hammering in his chest. He closed his eyes and really _listened_ and he realised he couldn’t hear anything that was human made. He could only hear the natural world around him and Trowa had never felt so separate, so free, so isolated yet not alone. Not alone as he could almost feel the heat of Duo’s hand through the layers of fabric and he opened his eyes once again and he saw Duo’s pose. He wasn’t relaxed, his body was poised as though ready to spring into action, as though ready to _run._

“We need to head back,” Duo said, his voice more serious than Trowa had ever heard it.

“Why?”

Duo looked up and Trowa’s gaze followed towards the canopy of the trees. As then he felt it. The droplet of water. And then another. And then it was raining.

It didn’t just rain. It poured heavily, battering through the branches above and soon they were both soaked. It was a harder journey back and Duo led the way, picking out the least difficult route as Trowa slipped on slick mud and tried not to fall too many times as he walked clumsily over roots and fallen branches. It seemed Duo had some preternatural ability not too fall over as despite Trowa’s many slips and trips, Duo had none and when they finally got out of the forest, Duo was relatively clean compared to Trowa.

They dashed to the cabin, cold and wet, and Trowa had never been so eager to strip out of his clothes. Yet as they closed the door from the rain and prepared to remove layers, Trowa suddenly became very aware of Duo’s presence and the strange behaviour of Duo prior to the rain. It was as though he had known. And not from seeing the weather report on the television or on his phone. It was something else. He had known _seconds_ prior to it falling.

“How’d you know?” Trowa asked as he removed his boots, caked in mud.

“Know what?”

“That it was going to rain.”

“The usual way,” Duo said with a smile, “look at you… you are like _covered_ in mud, Tro.”

Trowa looked down at his hands, his coat, his jeans… there was no part of him not covered. He must look ridiculous. And then he realised Duo hadn’t answered his question.

“Let me help you out of your clothes,” Duo said, his voice suddenly low, husky. Trowa must’ve looked surprised as Duo cautiously stepped forward. “If that’s okay?”

It was more than okay yet Trowa could only manage one word from his lips. “Yeah.”

Yet that was all that was needed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *arrives late with smut and Starbucks...*

Heat pooled in the pit of Trowa’s stomach despite the fact the cold rain had soaked him through. As Duo reached out, Trowa inhaled deeply and found his body almost skitter away from the touch. It was too soon, he reasoned, he barely knew Duo and it was a distraction he _really_ didn’t need when he was trying to finish his novel. And hadn’t Duo just been evasive? Wasn’t there something odd that had happened as they stood in the forest? Yet those questions faded as soon as nimble fingers reached for a zipper and Trowa reasoned that rational thoughts could be damned and as he grabbed for the back of Duo’s head, pulling him in for a kiss.

It was an open mouthed kiss, one that tasted of rain and the remains of greasy food. Trowa threaded fingers through the base of the braid, the hair wet and coarser than he expected and he moaned when Duo nipped at bottom lip harder than he would’ve anticipated. It stalled the kiss briefly, Trowa pulling away and wiping at his mouth, moist from rain water and saliva. He looked at Duo, panting and wet who for a brief second looked hurt, confused even.

“I should go…” Duo mumbled out.

Trowa shook his head. “No. Get undressed. Shower.”

The words sounded more commanding than Trowa felt. He did not feel in control of the situation, only a participant, yet the words were effective. Duo shrugged off his jacket and started removing his muddy boots as Trowa followed suit, his fingers trembling from the cold as he tried to undress as quickly as he could.

Once the outer layers were discarded in a pile, Duo reinitiated the kiss and Trowa could do nothing but relent to the tongue and teeth, to the fingers tight in his skin. He moaned into the kiss as Duo ground up against him, their cocks hard through denim and Trowa ran fingers underneath fabric feeling toned and scarred skin jump underneath his fingertips.

They made an attempt to keep kissing as they walked, cautious steps through an unfamiliar room. Despite the fact Trowa had been living at the cabin for a week, he was not an expert at navigating obstacles while his lips were locked and his eyes closed. They parted and Trowa reached for Duo’s hands, dragging him to the bedroom and the shower, muddy and wet clothes pooling on the floor.

Naked, finally, they got to the shower and Trowa could hear the rain hammering on the glass roof ahead. He shivered, the chill from the rain still in his bones, and he felt Duo plaster his body to his back as Trowa fiddled with the settings of the shower. It felt good, Duo kissing at his neck, and Trowa could feel Duo’s cock hard against the back of his thighs. He fumbled with the dials but managed to turn them enough so that hot but not _too_ hot water began to rain down on them.

Trowa felt himself melt against the dual sensation of hot water over his skin and Duo kissing and nipping at his neck. Duo’s hand snaked around Trowa’s front, reaching for his cock, hard and slick, and he pumped up and down a few times, the confident touch making Trowa moan.

“Want this in me,” Duo whispered into Trowa’s slick skin and he tugged at Trowa’s dick a few more times just as teeth sunk into skin harder, sharper.

The bite startled Trowa from his haze and his eyes opened. The pain was brief, sharp, and he made a strangled noise from his throat in pain or pleasure. Yet the pain departed quickly, licks at the area soothing the pain and the hand on his cock thoroughly distracting. The bite forgotten, Trowa turned swiftly to see Duo wet and looking the most fuckable creature on earth. His hair was half out of his braid, his skin was glistening from the water and his smirk was far too damn sexy.  He pushed Duo towards the wall of the shower, grabbed hold of his ass between his hands, and kissed his slick lips, rutting against his slick skin, their hard cocks rubbing together.

“Fuck me,” Duo said, pulling his lips away.

Trowa managed to grunt one word. “Bed.”

They left the shower running and crashed towards the unmade bed. Neither cared and Trowa didn’t give a damn about wetting Quatre’s fancy sheets. Duo crawled onto the bed and raised his ass, looking at him from over his shoulders, a sinful look in dark blue eyes.

Swallowing, Trowa found his toiletry bag and lube and a condom, joining him on the bed. He smacked at Duo’s ass, unable to resist and Duo moaned loudly at the sensation. Trowa smirked, glad to hear the noise he had created, he squirted lube onto his fingers and began to prep Duo.

It had been a while since Trowa had been in this position and he paused as he slid one finger inside, waiting for any hints of pain from Duo. There were none so he continued, leaning his torso over Duo’s back and kissing at his neck as he probed, his one finger soon joined by a second as he stretched. Duo moaned low and bucked back after three fingers, no coherent words spilling from his lips as Trowa sat back on his heels then and wiped his fingers hastily on the wet sheets, reaching for the condom packet and struggling with it due to slick fingers. He managed to open it after what seemed like an eternity and then slid the condom onto his dick.

“You okay?” Trowa asked softly once he had aligned his aching cock against Duo.

“Go for it.”

It was hardly romance but Trowa had never done romance. Instead, he plunged forward slowly, his eyes closing and his bottom lip between his teeth as he slid inside, his cock being sheath in tight heat. He heard Duo’s breaths and the sound of the shower. It felt peaceful. As though there was only them in this isolated cabin and he opened his eyes to see the sun was shining brightly into the room, the green dappled light illuminating the bed as the rain had finally stopped.

Trowa paused when he was sheathed fully inside and he squeezed his eyes shut once again to block out the light and focus on how his body felt. He felt the blood pumping around his body, the moisture on his skin and the pleasurable pressure around his cock. He felt connected, he felt every little thing and he felt inspired by each little twitch of his body and the body underneath him.

“Move,” Duo ground out, his voice strained and Trowa wondered how long he had been paused for.

He didn’t need the instruction twice and he pulled out almost to the tip before surging his hips forward once again. Duo’s back arched and his moan seemed to reverberate around the entire cabin and Trowa repeated the motion, desperate to see that reaction again.

As he flexed his hips backwards and forwards, Trowa’s hand grabbed onto Duo’s hips and he glanced down at the expanse of his back. He could see scars, the cuts and grazes, some recent and he would’ve thought of them more if not for the pleasure coursing through his system. He didn’t care about those scars in that moment, only the feel of his cock inside Duo, of the slap of skin against skin and the feel of Duo’s hips in his hands.

Duo pushed back into each of Trowa’s thrusts, needy and wild underneath him, and Trowa reached one of his hands under Duo’s body, searching out his cock and he began to pump Duo’s dick with fast motions in time with his own thrusts.

His thighs trembling and with his whole body overwhelmed by sensations, Trowa knew he was close to climax and he pumped faster at Duo’s cock as he increased his own thrusts. The bed rattled against the wall and the floorboards as Trowa came and he moaned out loudly as he spurted into the condom deep inside Duo.

Duo grunted and Trowa stroked at his dick a few more times until he felt sticky release in his fingertips, their bodies sticky and spent together. He stayed for a second inside, unable to think yet, but then he pulled out to tie off the condom and take in the chaos that they had created.

Trowa had never been good at the aftermath. That was why he had never really done relationships, preferring instead to engage in casual sex aided by the use of an app. Duo had collapsed into the bedsheets, his body limp and Trowa found the trash to dispose of the condom before joining him in the mangle of wet blankets.

“Wow,” Duo said, turning his head towards Trowa.

“Wow?”

“Huh-uh.”

Trowa smiled and looked at the ceiling. He could still hear the shower running and there was steam from the hot water misting the air and making the fading sunlight fracture in front of his eyes.

“Want some more food?” Duo said after a while.

Blinking, he looked back over to Duo was grinning. Thinking about it, Trowa _could_ eat more of Duo’s food. He nodded.

“Shower then more greasy deliciousness?”

“Sounds perfect,” Trowa said and he leaned over and lightly brushed those smiling lips.

And as Duo hopped off the bed and went to the shower, Trowa stared up at the ceiling and thought he had misjudged this interaction with Duo. It wasn’t a distraction. It was _inspiration._


	6. Chapter 6

Trowa didn’t know when Duo left. He had slept through whenever Duo had made his escape and when he woke up, he was alone and sore in a bed that was still damp from their after shower activities. On sitting up, Trowa felt groggy and he felt like he had lost time – like he’d been  _ really  _ drunk – yet there had been no alcohol yesterday. Only food and sex. But still he felt he had a hangover and there was a banging in his head that made him wonder if he was just getting too damn old for wild sex with handsome strangers. 

Then he realised the banging was not coming from his head. It was coming from the door. And with a quick jump out of the bed, Trowa suddenly realised there was shouting accompanying that banging. 

“Barton!”

It was then he grabbed for his phone and saw a sticky note attached to the front of the screen. 

_ Had to leave so I could open the diner. Thanks for everything yesterday. Do it again sometime? D xx _

He smiled briefly then removed the note to see the time (8.34am) and the multiple missed calls from… 

“Wufei. Shit.”

With that, Trowa jumped out of his bed and reached for some crumpled underwear, some rumpled jeans and any t-shirt that was not stinking of sweat or stained. After putting them on without care, he padded to the door noting that there was a trail of mud and clothing leading to the bedroom. He grabbed for his wet clothes, the residue of puddles left on the wooden floor and threw them in the vicinity of the bedroom. His agent didn’t need to know what he had not been writing yesterday and he didn’t need to know about his company. It was not that Trowa was embarrassed, just that Wufei didn’t need to know anything beyond how his writing was going. 

He opened the door slowly, mentally preparing himself for the stern face and the angry expression. The mental preparation did not help as Wufei stood there in his most inappropriate city clothes with an expression that suggested he was not  _ at all  _ impressed with the length of time it had taken Trowa to open the door.

“Did you not hear me? I’ve been here for 25 minutes.”

Trowa shrugged. “I was asleep.”

Wufei looked him up and down. “I guessed.”

“Would you like to come in or do you want to do this on the doorstep?”

“In please. There is far too much mud out there.”

Trowa couldn’t help the smirk on his face then as he glanced down to see that Wufei’s immaculate light brown loafers did not look so bright anymore, mud from the heavy rain staining them. Once Wufei was inside, he toed off his shoes carefully and removed his cream raincoat, leaving it carefully on the side and smoothing the fabric. 

“I’m suspecting you did not get my calls?” Wufei said with a sniff as he looked around the mess that was the cabin. “I thought you might’ve tidied up a little if you had known a guest was coming.”

The only response Trowa could manage was to roll his eyes. As he had had a guest yesterday who had not cared for the appearance of the cabin. Wufei clearly did but then surely as Wufei worked with creative types, with writers and artists and such, he should be used to people working in a mess in order to create. Then Trowa remembered he had always met Wufei in coffee shops, in restaurants and in his own offices. Maybe he avoided the less clean aspects of the creative process. 

“I missed your calls. I was writing,” Trowa lied. 

“Writing? Is there a draft?”

Trowa immediately regretted his lie as there was no real draft. Only fragments. And nothing he would let Wufei read as yet. 

“Not yet. It’s… different,” Trowa said and he walked towards the kitchen, “can I get you a coffee or tea?”

He hoped the offer of a drink would be a distraction but Wufei was not so easily side tracked. He was already at the table and had picked up Trowa’s notes and laptop from where they had sat on the chair out of the way during yesterday’s meal. Trowa thought about protesting but at least it now appeared he was working on something so he went to the kitchen to make coffee even though Wufei had not responded. He needed coffee at the very least.

“It’s different,” Wufei said while Trowa distracted himself with the coffee making process. “I didn’t think you’d be one for supernatural fiction.”

“It’s gay Stephen King,” Trowa said deadpan as finished with the coffee machine that was worth more than his own home.

“That’s marketable. Break down some of the stereotypes and critique.”

Trowa made a “hmm” noise in ascent. He didn’t think bullshitting Wufei would be so easy but it seemed his agent was eating it up. Or maybe he’d just been so starved for some actual writing from Trowa that any writing was better than nothing. He walked over and popped a black coffee next to Wufei, knowing his preference and took a seat beside him at the table with his own.

“I assume you can put together a coherent synopsis and plan within the next week? Something to show your publishers. What you have is good but nothing sellable yet.”

The compliment was the only part Trowa heard. He’d thought his ramblings were shit so he was giving himself a mental pat on the back until he realised that Wufei wanted something more tangible. Something like an actual plot summary.

“I can,” he said with more confidence than he felt.

Wufei smiled. “Then I will get out of your hair so you can work. But there’s someone I think you need to meet and she doesn’t live too far from here. In fact, I’m visiting her after you. Have you heard of R. D Peacecraft?”

“Can’t say I have,” Trowa replied, not sure if he was meant to have.

“She’s what we call a supernatural romance author and moved to this area due to its folklores and urban myths.”

Trowa’s interest was piqued – what did she know about folklores and myths. “She lives near here?”

“A few towns over but seeing you both made my trip worthwhile. She is a most… prolific author so I don’t tend to coddle her as much as some of my clients but I need to make sure she knows she’s appreciated from time to time.”

“Can I have her address?”

Wufei’s eyebrow arched as though he was surprised by Trowa’s eagerness to meet a fellow author.  In truth, Trowa usually would not have been interested in meeting fellow authors and Wufei knew this. He had invited Trowa to a gathering with other industry types and Trowa had declined. He didn’t really feel like a “proper” writer himself and didn’t want to pretend he fitted in. This feeling had been compounded by his inability to write the sequel to  _ Flicker Fade _ . He did not want to be in a room of people asking him about what he had written and what he was writing next.

“Of course,” Wufei said smoothly and he found a blank piece of paper among Trowa’s notes. He looked on his phone and then wrote down the address in his neat cursive writing style that contrasted against Trowa’s scrawl. Wufei pushed it over to Trowa and got to his feet. “I’ll leave you to your work.”

With that Wufei walked towards the door, Trowa following and loitering as Wufei put his shoes and rain coat back on. As he prepared to leave, Wufei paused and looked at Trowa closely, his dark eyes taking in every square inch of his body. 

“I worried about this. Isolating yourself to write. But apart from the mess of the cabin, it seems it’s awakening your creative spark. Something different is often what’s needed for a second novell – no need for more of the same.”

“Yeah,” Trowa replied, not really sure what he  _ should  _ say.

He couldn’t tell Wufei that it wasn’t what he meant to write. That it was all because of Duo that he felt inspired. That he was imagining animal noises and howls around him when he was half asleep. 

“I’ll look forward to next week.”

And with that comment, Wufei left and Trowa watched confused as his agent stepped over puddles to get to his rental car. The confusion only lasted a moment as he remembered what Wufei was looking forward to. He was looking forward to the plot synopsis and the summary and all the things he was supposed to do. 

Once Wufei drove away, Trowa closed the door the cabin and leaned against it as he looked around the cabin. It was a mess, the debris of his writing and yesterday’s sex lingering. He paused, remembering the feeling of Duo’s skin, Duo’s body, his lips… and then he shook his head. 

He had to do some writing and so he marched towards the table prepared to do just that. Or at least try. He could manage that at the very least. 


End file.
